Berlin

Flag of Berlin

I headed to Berlin to meet up with one of my good friends Tyler who I met in Athens and later saw in Paris. This was his last stop and I really wanted to see him again before he headed back to good old Oregon.

I think everyone agrees when I say Berlin is the best city to just live, no need to make a check list of must sees, you just need to live day to day experiences. It has this vibe that's hard to explain but impossible to resist.

I got to experience the underground club scene as well as get a great history of the city and the country on a walking tour and just enjoy the great people and places of Berlin. One day I had the chance to visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp just outside of Berlin, which was not only used by the Nazis but also during the soviet union, I had a really great tour guide that made the experience very interesting.

Chocolate Brandenburg Gate!!

Me with part of the Berlin Wall in the background.

Oh and I met this interesting Australian fellow named Jason who decided to join me in Vienna...

BUDA pest

View of Pest from Buda

When I initially thought of places I wanted to visit while I was in Europe, Budapest had never come to mind but because I didn't have time to go to Russia and really wanted to see some of Eastern Europe, I made my way there. The hostel I stayed at was one of my favourite. It was owned by a young american who was on his way to Israel when he stopped in Budapest and ended falling in love with a local. He never made it to Israel but now he owns a pretty awesome hostel and got himself a lady friend.
Budapest is gorgeous, it was originally two cities divided by the river. On Buda you can find the palace and the castle hill and on Pest you find the parliament and many other monuments. I had the chance to rent a bike, it was the best way to tour the city. One day I went to these traditional outdoor thermal baths,  it felt pretty great swimming outside in the middle of December. On the last day I went to the House of Terror, which was the Nazi headquarters and then later during the Soviet Union the secret police headquarters.
I met some of the nicest people and had some of the most relaxing and freeing moments in this city, I love you Budapest :)

Thermal Baths

Me and my beautiful bike!

House of Terror 

Amsterdam

I know this will be hard to believe but the cheapest flight out of Athens was to Amsterdam. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about going there but I had a few days to visit one more place before going back to Paris and then Nice to meet my mom. Weekends are crazy packed so most hostels were booked, I ended up staying in a Christian hostel in the center of the Red Light District (oh the irony!).  Honestly I know this city has a reputation for a few things, but it is truly one of the most beautiful cities I've seen. It's clean, safe, and rich in history and culture. I got the chance to get a quick history lesson on the Deutsch at the Rijksmuseum and see paintings by one of their most famous painters- Rembrandt. I also checked out the van Gogh museum!

These past three weeks have been great, now I'm in Nice once again with my family where I met up with my mama :) Next up I'm trying to go to Vienna, Budapest and Slovenia, and I'd like to finish in London before heading back to Toronto!

-Clara

Greeece!!

After Rome I went to Athens. I had my first experience with the current situation in the country when parts of downtown were shut down due to protests and I had to take a detour to get to my hostel. It was interesting because when I asked the tourism office what was going on they claimed it was a national holiday and definitely not a riot or protest, but when I talked to my cab driver he confirmed that it was absolutely a protest. But overall my trip in Greece was very safe and not violent or scary like the media makes it out to be.  Protests go on only in specific sections of the city and the rest is normal and the day to day life continues.

The historic sites of Athens are so impressive! The Acropolis Museum was great and gave me a nice refresher on Ancient Greek history and then actually seeing the Acropolis was amazing, I loved it so much I went twice!

                                                 On the Acropolis infront of the Parthenon

After Athens I went to the greek island Santorini. It was beautiful!! Exactly what you picture when you think of Greece with the white houses and blue roofs. I was travelling with two Canadian guys from Calgary and we went on a boat tour of the Island. We got dared to go swimming because since we're Canadian apparently this temperature is normal for us haha the water was COLD, but soo worth it :)

                                  

                                                                 Sunset in Santorini

Roma

Heyhey,

It's been a while since I've updated my blog and I apologize!! I'm now back in Paris so let me take you through my past three weeks. It all started in Rome, Italy.

Rome was beautiful, this wasn't my first time there but I loved it just as much as the first time if not more.  As soon as I got to the airport I spotted two backpackers who had canadian flags (those canadians are everywhere!).  We quickly became friends, Bobbi and Leslie are cousins from BC.  I found my hostel no problem and was reassured by how clean and safe it was, since this was my first time staying in a hostel I didn't know what to expect. I then met another Canadian, this time from Calgary. Nicole and I ended up visiting a lot of Rome together. I saw the Vatican, the Colosseum, Trevi Foutain, the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese!

My last night there was one of the best! Nicole had read about this restaurant where you selected the 3 dish option on the menu and they brought you 3 random dishes, chef's choice. It was awesome! We got one ravioli dish, one rice and vegetable dish and lastly a penne and ham dish. It was delicious and so exciting not knowing what was coming next!

Roman soldiers infront of the Colosseum

Rome with the Vatican in the background!

Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain.

Here I goooo!!!!

And so it has begun, the next two months of my life filled with adventures and unexpected turns! I spent a fantastic last night in Paris with my friends and then boarded a train for Nice. Unfortunately, it looks like I brought Parisian weather to the south, as it's been raining non-stop and there's even been flooding in the region, but none of that matters because I am so happy to be surrounded by family and prepping for my european travels. This Saturday all my cousins and their families are getting together at my aunt's house and then Monday I'm off to Rome :)

Bisous,
Clara

Taking this experience to a whole new level

Hey,

I have officially become a cliche in Paris by becoming a waitress, however it's not in a cafe but in an Italian restaurant. I should probably back track to explain how I got to this point.  It all started when I got here, well really it started long before but I'll spare you the life story and skip to the recent events. This exchange has been brutal, Paris is like one of my friends called it "a cruel mistress".  So much goes wrong here, but you still love it because c'est Paris how could you not be in love. Many reasons added up to make me take one of the biggest decisions of my life, something I never thought I could be capable of. I decided to stop school and take the semester off. I was pleasantly surprised by people's reactions to this news. I thought for sure people would be dissapointed or not understand, but so far everyone has been extremely supportive.

I thought it would be easy to know what to do next, I stopped school, I'm free...right? But having so much freedom all of the sudden confused me, was I suppose to travel, where should I travel to, should I work, should I go home?

 What would you do if you suddenly had let's say 2 months to do whatever you want to?

In the end I quit my job as a waitress for several unpleasant reasons and I am looking for someone to replace me in my housing situation, then I'm off to see my aunt and cousins in Nice and from there I will travel Europe!

                                          Words I've been living by during this experience :)